On December 13, 1984, the house of Colonel J. W. Reedy at 309 N 2nd Street was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. J. W. Reedy was a prominant citizen who helped shape the city of Beresford, SD during its earliest years. He was an auctioneer who sold land in 35 US states as well as in Canada; and, he owned 1700 acres of land in the area of Beresford, SD area. Colonel Reedy's home was the only Beresford house to contain a separate servants' quarters.
In the early days, the city of Beresford owed much of its success to the railroad. As the town grew and became increasingly dependent on the railroad, the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Depot became the center of activity. Until other structures were built, the depot building was frequently used to hold town meetings and religious services.
When rail services grew, the original depot became too small to handle the increased volume of business. So, the original depot was torn down; and, the Bakken and Anderson Construction Company built a larger building on the same site in 1924.
At the rail service's peak, two freight and four passenger trains ran on a daily basis. But, the increased use of cars, trucks, and airplanes resulted in a decline in business for the rail service. In July of 1978, the last Chicago and Northwestern train left Beresford.
In April of 1984, the depot building was purchased by a non-profit organization called Community Depot, Inc. The purpose of this group was to save and restore the building in an effort to make it ready to be used as a community center. Restoration work by volunteers started during the summer of 1984. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in March of 1985.
On April 1, 1962, the westbound lane of the Interstate 29 bridge collapsed over the Big Sioux River near Sioux City, IA. The collapse was the result of unprecedented spring floods, which eroded the river bottom and undercut the pilings. The Iowa Highway Commission approved a low bid of $465,040 by the Iowa Bridge Company to replace the bridge. The original bridge was designed and constructed by the South Dakota Department of Highways; but, Iowa took over the job of replacing the bridge. On December 20, 1962, the southbound bridge of I-29 was opened to traffic with a thirty mile per hour speed limit.
Between June 13, 1962 and about September 15, 1962, the three mile section of I-29 north of SD 46 was completed. Originally, this paving was to have begun on May 24, 1962; but, it was delayed due to the large amount of rainfall. Western Contracting Corporation performed most of the work, with a number of other companies also contributing to the labor force, which consisted of more than two hundred men.
On September 30, 1962, a brief ribbon cutting ceremony was held on the SD 46 interchange following the completion of the stretch of Interstate Highway 29 between Sioux Falls, SD and Sioux City, IA. The main program was then held at 3pm at the Beresford High School Auditorium.
US highway No. 77 was the result of efforts of public-spirited citizens who wanted better roads for the city of Beresford, SD. In about 1910, roads leading to Beresford were not paved and were often muddy, making travel extremely difficult. In 1911, sixty or seventy men from Beresford went to Sioux Falls, SD to attend a meeting called by Dr. Hanson for the purpose of organizing plans for a highway which would pass from Winnipeg, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The course that was chosen at that meeting was almost identical to the path that No. 77 later followed; and, most of the changes in the original course were made to the road north of Sioux Falls and north of Elk Point. Originally, No. 77 was known as the "King of Tratts" highway, which became State Highway No. 15 and then US highway No. 77. After three decades of effort, the paving of US highway No. 77 was completed in the fall of 1939. After a delay due to weather conditions, the city of Beresford held a celebration in honor of the event on May 17, 1940.
On December 15, 1972, a noticeable sag in the former US-77 bridge was observed. The bridge connected North Sioux City, SD with Sioux City, IA and carried mainly local traffic ever since the completion of I-29. It was posted with a three ton limit to keep trucks from crossing. It was recommended that the fifty year old bridge be replaced at a cost of $600000; but since the bridge was no longer on a federal highway, the federal government was no longer responsible for replacement. It was proposed that the bridge might have become the responsibility of Union County, SD. But, the legal staff of the state highway department determined that the bridge was still officially a part of the state highway system and that no resolution to turn the bridge over to the county had been made at that time.
In phase I of the South Dakota Educational Television Association plan, three South Dakota towns had to be selected as the sites of the first three educational television broadcast towers. On February 10, 1966, Beresford became the site of the broadcast tower for channel two; while, Arlington and Rapid City became the locations of channels eight and nine, respectively. The Beresford tower was to have been located on the D. Westberg farm.
The tower was to have carried daytime and nighttime programs. Most of this programming was to have been on pre-recorded on videotape and film. However, it was to have also carried some live programming produced by the KUSD station at the University of South Dakota, which had been in operation under limited power in Vermillion since 1961. Some live programming was to have also been produced at the SDSU station. The programs were to have been microwaved to the tower from Vermillion.
The $35000 tower was donated by KTIV-TV in Sioux City, IA. The tower was 550 feet high with a 100 foot antenna on top. It covered 14 acres and used 100000 watts per hour. It was located about two miles south of Beresford, SD. The application to the Federal Communications Commission was submitted on July 18, 1966. The tower was to go into operation during the summer of 1967.
The 145 foot tall 300000 gallon water tower was constructed in Beresford by the Pittsburg-Des Moines Steel Company in 1969. Construction was completed in May of 1969. The Beresford water tower was painted mint green.
In May of 1994, the tower was emptied to prevent "sweating." This allowed the H and H Tower Company of Sleepy Eye, MN to sandblast and repaint the tower blue, and to perform general maintenance and repairs. During this time, Beresford's water system operated on pressure from pumps.
In 2001, a PCS (Personal Communication Service) cellar tower was added to the top of the water tower. The towers were activated on April 1, 2001 to provide PCS phone customers with clear communications along Interstate 29.